AVILON: A Shared Dream and Endeavor

The AVILON MONTALBAN ZOOLOGICAL PARK is the largest zoological park in the Philippines to
date. Nestled in the picturesque valley of Barrio San Isidro, Rodriguez (formerly Montalban),Rizal,
Philippines, the 7.5-hectare land area of the Zoo was once raw rice land.

AVILON had its un seeming beginnings when Mr. Jake Gaw, an avid animal hobbyist who,at the age
of four had his first encounter with animals while staying at his grandpa's farm in Sta. Ana,Manila (still
quite rural then) mingled among goats, cows, pigs and chickens at the farm. This initial encounter
would make such a lasting impression on young Jake that he carried his interest in animals from then
on. Thus, from guppies and budgies, Jake over the years extended and expanded his interest and
collection to arapaimas and eagles and lions and macaques, pythons,etc.

There are two, so to say, crossroads in the history of AVILON. The FIRST was when Jake had to
transfer his pet lion IO to a new home, because his neighbors were concerned about the presence of a
full-grown male lion living amongst them inside a subdivision. This search for a new home to house IO
led Jake to the scenic countryside of San Isidro, Montalban (later to be called Rodriguez) in the
Province of Rizal where he decided to build a weekend place for his family and, of course, IO and his
other pets. It was 1992.

By 1994, the land within AVILON had been leveled and the concrete hollow block perimeter walls
finished. Several man-made lagoons and ponds were then excavated, and the Big Lagoon where the
Pavilion now stands is the largest, comprising an area of 3,000 square meters. Construction of animal
exhibits followed, starting off with the Corrals where hoofed animals are being kept, the Multi-Purpose
Building (now the Herpetarium) and the Hexagonal Birdcages (now the Avian Exhibit), followed by the
Crocodiles and the Hornbills enclosures,and many more.

Aside from steel and cement, the construction required tons of huge rocks, river boulders and adobes
of different textures, colors and shades, which were sourced from quarries in Luzon and as far as
Mindanao. Saplings of a wide variety of native and exotic trees, bamboos, palms,epiphytes, vines and
shrubs were also acquired to create a natural setting to the once barren landscape. A greenhouse was
also built to house and propagate plants for landscaping use.

Then the SECOND turning point came in the person of Mrs. Teena Gaw who had only a vague idea of
what Mr. Jake Gaw was doing in Montalban. An auspicious trip by Mrs. Teena Gaw to the construction
site, some AVILON is a perfect place to know more about Wildlife and Nature. Guided Tours and
Educational Fieldtrips offer guests/visitors a privilege to observe and know more about the ecology
and behavior of the animals, and how we can help conserve and protect the threatened and
endangered species, and also on how to help save and protect our environment. Sometime in 1995,
resulted ultimately in the decision to develop the Weekend place into a Zoo. THUS AVILON ZOO WAS
BORN.

From then onwards, Jake, the animal hobbyist had to literally transform himself into Jake, the Zoo
Administrator. It was a one-man-army task, so to say. With helpful suggestions from Mrs. Teena Gaw
and friends, the construction went into high gear.

AVILON over the next years gradually "evolved" into a zoological and botanical park.

But why the name AVILON?

Having had to decide a name for this wildlife sanctuary, Jake thought of combining two French words:
AVES meaning of or about BIRDS, and LON meaning LAND, to form the word AVILON or LAND OF
THE BIRDS.
And of course, AVILON is not just about birds. With its large exhibits of more than 3,000 specimens
of exotic and endemic animals represented by more than 600 species of birds, mammals, reptiles,
fishes and invertebrates, and close to 400 species of plants, of which more than 50% are Philippine
endemics, AVILON ZOO is one of the zoos in Southeast Asia having the most diverse representation
of flora and fauna.

AVILON ZOO adopted the motto: Celebrating Life! to symbolize its philosophy. Life is precious and
every living creature on Earth has a right to live --- freely and fully. AVILON endeavors to showcase
the Living Creatures that share the Earth with us in all its diversity and splendor; its cycles of birth
and rebirth; its fragility and resiliency.

COME CELEBRATE LIFE AT THE AVILON ZOO!

Location Map

Contact Information
Bo. San Isidro, Rodriguez, Rizal
Tel. Nos.: (632) 941-8393 * (632) 948-9866 (63917) 899-5126
Fax: (632) 941-8530 * Email: info@avilonzoo.com.ph
Entrance Fee: Php208.00 or $5.00/person

SOME FACTS
Guided tours and Educational Fieldtrips offer guests/visitors the priviledge of observing and knowing
more about the ecology and behavior of the animals, how to conserve and protect the threatened and
endangered species

ZOO DEPARTMENTS
Avilon zoo has various departments and each has its own respective curator, veterinarian, supervisors,
and keepers. These are the Department of Herpetology and Arachnology, the Department of
Ichthyology, the Department of Ornithology, the Department of Mammalogy, the Wildlife Nursery and
Rearing Department, the Veterinary Medicine and Quarantine Department, the Department of
Laboratory Medicine, the Leisure and Recreation Department, and the Animal Nutrition
Department.and how to save and protect our environment.
Wawa
 Montalban, Rizal

Montalban is considered the birthplace of Rock

Climbing in the Philippines. It started in the late
1970s and the sport become very popular in the late
1990s. Montalban was renamed Rodriguez but people
prefer to call the place with its old name.

Montalban is located within the vicinity of Wawa

Dam. The river flows from Sierra Madre Mountains
passing by an abandoned spillway (Wawa Dam)
through a white marble gorge unto a picnic site where
huge acacia trees and man made huts provide shelter
and shade. It is the playground for Rock climbers in
the cool season of November to February and the dry
season of March to May.

The people of Wawa managed to save the place

from quarrying and found business in eco-tourism.
With the help of Mountaineers and picnicers, the
people of Wawa maintained the place. There are many
popular routes in Montalban, from beginner to
advanced. Majority of these route were established by
UP Mountaineer and Philippine Rock Climbing
poioneer Roel Tan Torres (Bobot). Together with the
climbers of Power UP, they maintained the Locals'
awareness of the sport and how it can help them in
their livelihood. The mountaineers also help educate
the people of Wawa to protect their natural resources
eventually both sides will benefit from this process.

In 1993 when Rock Climbing wasn't as popular as

it was now, UP Mountaineers invited the
Mountaineering Clubs of Metro Manila to try their
Artificial Climbing Wall built directly on the
University's Library Building. I went there and found
out that I was the only mountaineer other than the UP
Mountaineers who accepted the club's invitation. I
watched with envy while the UP Mountaineers tried
their newly constructed artificial climbing wall.
Eventually, Bobot noticed me and invited me to try the
wall for myself. The rest was history. I got hooked in
rock climbing, went to UP every weekend, sometimes
squeezing a few hours on weekdays and eventually I
went to Montalban for real rock climbing. In 1994 I
started teaching rappelling and Basic Rock Climbing
to different clubs like the Toyota Mountaineers, DOT
(Department of Tourism) Ascent, PNB Mountaineers
& Philip's Las Piñas Mountaineers. I even quit my
regular job and teaching the sport was my bread and
butter for six months. I went back to my real passion
which is Art after six months, but I'll never forget how
much addicted I was into Rock Climbing. I still climb
in every chance I get, mostly in Indoor climbing walls
but the blood that flows in my veins is still the blood
of a pure rock climber.